Help thy neighbour. That is pretty ingrained in the bush, maybe not as much in cities. We’ve been reading about it over the past week with our Livingstone neighbours, how they’ve helped each other, and continue to do so, in fighting the bush fires and in the recovery. Another neighbour of Rockhampton, Central Highlands, is going through this now also. What can we ‘townies’ in Rockhampton do to help? If we are not experienced in fighting bush fires then supporting the recovery fundraising initiatives is the obvious answer. Is there a way though that Rockhampton makes a donation as a neighbour, not just individual families and businesses from within it? To me this is an important distinction; being the neighbouring region, Rockhampton making a donation is recognition we are neighbours, and importantly the relationship this involves. This is not a Council thing, but a community thing; the Rockhampton community recognising that our neighbouring communities are going through a rough time, that doesn’t end when the flames are extinguished. And while we as individuals may support the fundraising initiatives, it is also important that we as a neighbour community recognise the hardship the Livingstone and Central Highland’s communities are going through and Rockhampton supports them as part of a bigger interconnected community, the CQ community. One way this is being realised is a corporate tennis challenge being held at the Rockhampton Regional Tennis Centre on Wednesday evening December 4th. Invitations have been sent out to Rockhampton businesses to nominate a team of 2 players (one of which they can buy) plus subs for a night of tennis. Team nominations will be donated to the CQ fire appeals, along with proceeds of an auction of donated products and impromptu pay to play games of table tennis between matches. It is along the lines of what the local tennis community organised a number of years ago to support the Rockhampton flood appeal. Writing about this is not just a way of promoting this fundraising event, but a call out for other Rockhampton sporting and community organisations to consider doing something likewise this side of Christmas. Funds raised from all these initiatives could be pooled together, the larger number of events not just increasing the amount raised by Rockhampton but also the participation and pride in being involved. Plus, our neighbours will know the funds raised came from Rockhampton the community, their neighbour.
If you like to nominate a team in the Great Balls of Fire Christmas Corporate Tennis Challenge, donate a prize, and/or organise your own community fundraiser let me know, warren@aspirecq.com.
Together we can achieve so much more and gain greater satisfaction from being part of a community fundraising endeavour, an endeavour that helps our CQ neighbours.
